B2 Chapter 248: Bonefields, pt. 2

Exiting the pathway that led them through the monoliths that dotted the exterior of the Bonefields, Kaius looked at the plateau that opened up before them with a pleased expression on his face.

It would be a good battleground—as good as he had hoped it would be, from the scryed map they had purchased.

Rectangular, the stretch of dusty red stone was about twenty long-strides wide, and twice that in length. Hemmed in on three sides by tightly packed pillars of stone, they had entered from the east—the short side of the clearing.

Across from them, the ground dropped away into a jagged fissure, like the ground had been shattered by the blow of a colossus’ hammer. With the clouds clearing, the newly returned sun revealed the Bonefields in their full glory, risen as the plateau was above the rest of the region. They stretched as far as the eye could see—dipping over the horizon like a splash of rusty paint that had spread over the normal green grazinglands of the Frontier.

It was harsh, desolate, but also held a certain grave-bound beauty. Like a particularly beautiful cemetery. The monoliths that hemmed in the fields grew larger further into the Bonefields, but far more sparse—opening up the terrain into a dust swept pit of stone.

There were more bones too—and he caught his first glimpse of a skull. Half as big as a house, and half eroded by wind and time, it had been pushed up against a rocky spire and half buried in debris.

To his surprise, it lacked the reptilian features he had imagined. More cat-like, with long carnivorous fangs.

Kaius dragged his eyes away from the remnants of dead beasts. As much as he wished he could walk to the edge of that plateau and stare at the Bonefields until the sun fell over the horizon, they had a job to do, and a battle to prepare for.

Turning his critical eye to their immediate surroundings, Kaius nodded in satisfaction at the natural walls that hemmed them in. The shortest of the monoliths were more than twice his height, with the tallest being nearly three times—but their craggly exteriors had more than enough handholds for a strong classer to climb them with ease.

Another passage into the stone walls existed on their left—the northern face of the plateau. It was just as wide as the one they had come from, and from their map Kaius knew that it would be the most likely route that the biters would take to investigate the bait they would be setting.

Kaius looked away from the passage, searching the walls of their battleground for a suitable place for Ianmus to fight from.

“There,” he said, nudging Ianmus before pointing to a sheltered nook nestled on the southern face. It was three closely packed spires, providing a vantage point over the plateau, far out of reach of any hungry beasts who lacked the digits needed to climb.

It was also low enough that, if needed, Ianmus would be able to easily clamber up to the tops of the stacks and run. He was by far the most fragile of their group, and the simple fact of knowing he was out of reach would make his and Porkchop’s job far easier.

“Good plan.” Ianmus replied.

Setting off towards the raised nook, Kaius looked behind him as they pushed further onto the open field of stone. It was mostly idle curiosity—the barren rock and dust of their surroundings was still entirely foreign to him. A red waste that tugged at his mind, conjuring strange thoughts of ages past.

The glowing runic circle he saw emblazoned on the wall stopped him dead, surprise rooting him to the spot. It was something that had been entirely absent from their map—not that its creator would have had anywhere near the detail or angle to capture it.

Almost out of place with its artificial brilliance, a Depths entrance glowed with vibrant energy—inscribed according to the will of the System on the face of one of the larger monoliths, about four strides off the ground.

“What is it?” Porkchop asked, before he too slowed to a halt as he saw what had captured Kaius’s attention.

“Well, isn’t that interesting?” Ianmus murmured as he walked over to their sides, staring at the radiant runes.

Kaius immediately analysed it, leaning on his Truesight as he sought to delve deep into the portal’s secrets.

Great Depths Portal: OpenLayer: 17Biome: ???? (unexplored)

He stifled a curse as he saw what layer the portal entered into. It meant that the average level of depthsborn would be a full one-seventy. Doable, in the right circumstances, but lethal in the volumes and chaos that could be found on a delve.

He’d hoped that its presence would be a rare blessing—a gods’ gifted escape hatch if something went wrong. With the way that the portals worked, there was a good chance that if they entered it would be hours or days before they could be followed—weeks, if they were lucky.

More than enough time for a pack of beasts to lose interest and wander off.

Unfortunately, with their current level of strength, entering so far into the Depths would be all but a death sentence. They’d pulled off the impossible before, but he had no interest in tempting fate twice.

Not if there were other options.

“A shame,” Ianmus said, analysing the portal with his own skill.

“It’s not all bad—if the biters are as strong as the reports said, we are likely to get plenty of levels today. If things truly take a turn for the worst, it will still give us a chance.” Porkchop replied.

Kaius shrugged, tugging one of the deer bodies that Porkchop had been carrying off his back and lugging it over his shoulder. In his mind, it was still poor fortune. While a fool’s gambit was better than nothing, if they’d been lucky enough for the portal to be one to the seventh layer, or lower, it would have been a perfect escape route.

They would have been able to blitz their way horizontally, raising and lowering through layers at random if needed—losing any potential pursuers that might have followed them in after the lock out reset.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on their side today, so he put it out of his mind.

Dumping the carcass he had been carrying in the centre of the plateau, he helped relieve Porkchop of his own, before he waved them on.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Come on, let’s get Ianmus and our gear up in that nook—I’ll leave the last of the preparations for when we’re ready.” he replied.

Once Ianmus had clambered up the side of the sheer rock walls, Kaius threw him their various bags—the mage stashing them in a sheltered crack in the stone at the back of his perch.

Focusing fully on taking a final inventory of his supplies, he readied himself for the battle ahead.

Resources:

Health – 3980/3980 (22.5/min)